A Yummy Fourth of July

I am definitely looking forward to this wonderful long weekend. We will be celebrating the 4th with some of our dearest friends - and hoping the rain will hold off for the pool party!

I want to make a treat for the party...doesn't this look yummy?

I got this recipe from my childhood friend Lindsey over at her blog, The Gorins.

Fanciful Fruit Pizza
-1 rolle sugar cookie dough
-8 oz cream cheese softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
strawberries, blueberries, raspberries
Heat oven to 350. Grease pizza pan. Press cookie dough evenly on pan to make crust. Bake 16-20 min or until golden brown. Cool 30 min. In bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until fluffy. (with mixer) Spread over cooled crust. Arrange fruit over sweetend cream cheese mixture! Tastes kinda like cheese cake! Chill in fridge for at least 1 hr. Cut into wedges or squares!

Or I also found this wonderful pie over at Gina's Weight Watchers Recipes. It looks delicious and won't negate all the working out I've done this week.

Super Light Blueberry Cream Pie
This cream pie is so light and tasty and it only takes 5 minutes to make. You can also make this with rasberries, blackberries, or strawberries. Simply substitute the blueberry yogurt for another flavor to match your fresh fruit. I brought this cream pie to a dinner and it completely disappeared!

Blueberry Cream Pie
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 8 • Prep Time: 10 minutes • Calories: 196 • Points: 3.5 ww points
9 inch ready made reduced fat graham cracker crust
8 oz fat free Cool Whip
2 cups fresh blueberries
2 (5.3 oz) fat free blueberry yogurt

Combine Cool Whip, berries and yogurt in a bowl. Pour into pie crust and chill.

Which one do you think I should make?

Love

Love is a temporary madness; it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of eternal passion. That is just being in love, which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Those that truly love have roots that grow towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom have fallen from their branches, they find that they are one tree and not two.

-Louis de Bernieres

I love him.

And I get to be his wife in 50 days.

:)

A Job For Littlest Sister

Hmmm. I really need to come up with a name for my Littlest Sister since she is not so little anymore! Youngest Sister just doesn't sound right. Any ideas?

Anyways, this is about her summer job. She is only 11 so no, she is not working at a fast food joint, or the mall.

Her job? Checking the mail everyday and emailing me the list of who has RSVP'd and what they are eating.

Easy enough, right? Seemed that way, until today. Someone sent back a blank RSVP card. Well, we know it is one person and we know they chose "Beef" for their entree. They just failed to include their name. Hmmm. (If this is you, let me know). :)

She is doing a fabulous job with this task, despite my impatient calls to ask her if she has checked the mail yet. (This is the hard part of them not coming to my house! Then again, I couldn't exactly be checking my mail when I'm at work, so this is even better for my impatient self.)

So thanks, Littlest Sister!

And to wrap it all up, here is one of my favorite pictures of me and Littlest Sis. She hates this photo, but I love the sight of her laughing (especially since she is laughing at my lack of dance skills.) Enjoy. :)

Are you checking your own mail for RSVPs or doing it by proxy, like me?

How Pretty!

Check out this dress I just stumbled upon. It is made by Zelaya and sold on Etsy. So pretty!

Love the back!

Is anyone else as addicted to Etsy as I am? :)

Happy Anniversary Nick and Jessica!

Two years ago today, my soon-to-be brother and sister-in-law got married! Hard to believe it has already been two years. Here are some photos from their beautiful wedding!

And in true Jessica-fashion, she put her wedding dress on this morning! Here are some pictures of her still looking fabulous in her wedding dress, AFTER having a child!

Aren't they the cutest family???

Congratulations Nick and Jessica!!!

She Wore A...

Well, it's not quite a yellow polka dot bikini, but it is bright yellow!

The straps are detachable; in fact, I haven't even tried it on yet with the straps! Perfect for that no-tan-line look I'm going for.

I originally saw the suit here and loved it. But I didn't love the $100 price tag.

Then I went to my favorite store (TJ Maxx) and guess what I saw - this exact suit! And it was only $25!!!! And they had it in my size!!! And it fit beautifully!

I wasn't sure how my fiance would feel about it - I think in his mind I'm supposed to be wearing bikinis at least until I have kids. :) And I will have plenty of bikinis on the honeymoon, but I love having this as another option.

Living in southwest Florida brings lots of opportunities for beach/pool parties. In fact, we are having a pool party for both our honeymoon shower and my bachelorette! So I know this beauty will be getting a lot of use.

Now I just need the big floppy hat to complete the outfit. :)

Have you made any fun bathing suit purchases to celebrate summer?

When Blogging Collides with "Real Life"

I had an interesting experience last night.

I met at girl (who is a friend of a friend) last night. We got to talking about wedding things and she already knew everything...because she has been reading my blog!

It was a very strange phenomenon. Talk about a cyber world/real world collision!

People have asked me about my blog, if I feel like I'm giving too much away. And I have to say...no.

I love giving people the inside information on my wedding details. Any guests who read my blog will know the back story on everything, whereas those details might otherwise go unnoticed, or at least under-appreciated.

But I am curious how many people I know read my blog - time for a roll call! Leave me a comment and let me know you're reading!

And thanks for being so interested in my upcoming marriage! :)

I'm Having an Identity Crisis

And I'm sure I'm not the only one.

I am not a super-young bride, fresh out of high school. No, I have been to college, been through grad school, and have made a name for myself in the legal community. A name. My name.

To top it off, I have a very memorable name. My first name is unusual, and paired with my last name...well, let's just say people don't forget it. It has been the catalyst for much teasing and jokes over the years, but I have grown attached to it somehow. I'm proud to be a part of my family and have my family name.

I have always planned to change my last name when I get married. There is something about that ultimate coming together, becoming one family, starting my new life as his wife.

My identity crisis? My middle name. I like my middle name. Love my middle name. But...I also love my (now) last name. What do I do? I thought about becoming:

First Last Married

or

First Middle Married

or

First Middle Last Married

But that last one is probably entirely too many names. I want to avoid the hyphenated name at all costs. But that leaves me in a quandary, and with a serious identity crisis.

Have any of you experienced an identity crisis when it comes to changing your name?

I Lost...

I lost a game of Scrabble to my fiance tonight. This is unheard of...I am the (self-proclaimed) Scrabble Queen! Here is the the final board...



And here he is, showing off the scoresheet...boo!


The funniest part of the night was after the game when I declared, "Fine! Loser has to clean it up!" He reminded me that was, in fact, me. I told you I wasn't used to losing...

What is your favorite board game to play?